The disgraced spies of Slough House are back in action. Slow Horses returned for its fifth season on September 24, 2025, with a premiere that dropped a major incident on London. The first episode, “Bad Dates,” left viewers with a cliffhanger involving a mass shooting and a potential target within their own team. For fans wondering when the story continues, the wait for the next chapter is almost over.
The new season continues to follow the messy and brilliant MI5 outcasts led by the unforgettable Jackson Lamb, played by Gary Oldman. This season adapts Mick Herron’s fifth novel, London Rules, putting tech expert Roddy Ho in the spotlight when he gets a glamorous new girlfriend that raises everyone’s suspicions.
When to Watch Episode 2
The second episode of Slow Horses Season 5, titled “Incommunicado,” will be available to stream on Wednesday, October 1, 2025.
New episodes are released on the Apple TV+ streaming service at 12:01 a.m. Pacific Time (PT). For viewers in other time zones, this means the episode arrives at 3:00 a.m. Eastern Time (ET) and 8:00 a.m. British Summer Time (BST) on the same day.
Unlike some streaming services that release all episodes at once, Slow Horses is following a weekly schedule. This means episodes will come out every Wednesday, building suspense from one week to the next.
The Full Season 5 Schedule
After the two-episode premiere, the season will continue with one new episode each week. The entire six-episode season will unfold over the following weeks .
- Episode 1: “Bad Dates” – Released on September 24, 2025
- Episode 2: “Incommunicado” – October 1, 2025
- Episode 3: “Tall Tales” – October 8, 2025
- Episode 4: “Missiles” – October 15, 2025
- Episode 5: “Circus” – October 22, 2025
- Episode 6: “Scars” – October 29, 2025
What to Expect in “Incommunicado”
The season premiere, “Bad Dates,” started with a bang. A mass shooting rocks London during a tense mayoral race. Shirley Dander is convinced that one of the Slow Horses was the actual target of an attempted hit, raising the stakes immediately.
According to Apple TV+’s official description, the plot thickens in the second episode. “An act of sabotage grinds London to a halt. Taverner interrogates Roddy. Coe is convinced a destabilization strategy is at play.” This suggests that the events of the first episode were just the beginning of a larger, more coordinated attack .
The personal drama will also intensify. Diana Taverner, the Deputy Director General of MI5, will turn her attention to Roddy Ho, likely connected to the suspicions about his new girlfriend. Meanwhile, JK Coe’s theory about a deliberate plan to destabilize the city will push the team to investigate the connections between these bizarre events.
The Spies of Slough House
The main cast returns for the new season. Gary Oldman leads as the brilliant but slovenly Jackson Lamb. He is joined by Jack Lowden as River Cartwright and Kristin Scott Thomas as the powerful Diana Taverner. The ensemble also includes Saskia Reeves, Rosalind Eleazar, Christopher Chung as Roddy Ho, Aimee-Ffion Edwards, and Tom Brooke.
This season adds new faces to the political intrigue, including Nick Mohammed from Ted Lasso as the Mayor of London, Zafar Jaffrey, and Christopher Villiers as his opponent, Dennis Gimbal.
Behind the Scenes
The series continues to be based on the popular spy novels by Mick Herron. Showrunner Will Smith explained that after the dark and personal events of the previous season, which was based on the book Spook Street, the team wanted to shift direction. The storyline involving Roddy Ho getting a girlfriend offered a chance to bring more humor to the show.
“You think, ‘Well, a series where Roddy Ho gets a girlfriend is automatically going to be funnier than a series where David Cartwright has dementia and people are trying to kill him,’” Smith told SlashFilm .
The production treats each six-episode season like a long movie, with a single director filming the entire season to maintain a consistent look and feel.
How to Watch
Slow Horses is an exclusive original series available only on Apple TV+. To watch new episodes, a subscription to the service is required. Apple TV+ offers a seven-day free trial for new subscribers, with a monthly fee of $9.99 after the trial period. All previous seasons are also available to stream on the platform.
For fans who have already seen the premiere, the next mission for the Slow Horses begins on October 1.
Also Read: Slow Horses Season 5 Premiere: A Van Attack on Roddy Ho Raises Alarms
